Blog posts tagged by tag: Economic Growth (GDP)

With the first quarter of 2018 in the books, the global economy appears to be running fairly smoothly despite a good deal of domestic and geopolitical uncertainty in various regions across the globe. In fact, the global economy is going so well, Met the why particular panelists expect the global economy to grow 3.4% in 2018, which would represent the strongest rate in seven years. With that said, in this post we highlight some of the economies that are growing (and shrinking) in 2018.

GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of the standard of living of a given country, as it reflects the average wealth of each person residing in a country. It is therefore the standard method used to compare how poor or wealthy countries are in relation to each other. With 2018 just under way, we decided to take a look at our forecasts for GDP per capita from 2019 to 2023 for the 127 countries we cover to get an idea of what countries are the poorest currently and which will be making a leap toward becoming wealthier in the coming years. The projections used in this study are Consensus Forecasts based on the individual forecasts of over 1100 world renowned investment banks, economic think tanks and professional economic forecasting firms.

China has been one of the fastest growing economies over the last few decades and is now the second largest economy in the world, just behind the United States. However, after years of astronomical economic growth, the economy is currently in the middle of a “managed” slow down, due in large part to Chinese authorities’ desire to avoid the economy overheating. So what is going on in China currently and what is in store for 2018? Head of Economic Research Ricard Torné reports.

When it comes to the top national economies globally, although the order may shift around slightly from one year to the next, the key players are usually the same. At the top of the list is the United States of America, which according to Investopedia, has been at the head of the table going all the way back to 1871. However, as has been the case for a good few years now, China is gaining on the U.S., with some even claiming that as the world’s Number 1 economy.

Nonetheless, going by nominal GDP measured in U.S. dollars alone, the U.S. maintains its spot followed by China and Japan. In this post we take a look at the world’s top economies according to our Consensus Forecasts for 2019 nominal GDP. We also discuss how the top economies change when looking at GDP per capita along with a highlight on emerging markets and their potential to catch up to the big players in the not too distant future.

Iceland is known for its natural picturesque beauty, active volcanos, the northern lights and of course its friendly people. In fact, the country was recently named the friendliest country in the world by the World Economic Forum. However, the one black spot on the country’s nearly spotless record was the 2008 Icelandic banking crisis that left the country’s economy on the verge of complete collapse.

In 2008, all three of Iceland’s major privately owned commercial banks failed and the country’s stock market lost 80% of its value overnight. Brought on by the deregulation of banks in 2001, years of asset inflation and bad loans resulted in a national debt 11 times that of its GDP. The banks eventually defaulted resulting in the largest single banking collapse in world history.

With the economy teetering on the edge after the disaster, the government took emergency measures to get the economy back on its feet and stabilize the Icelandic krona. Nearly 11 years later Iceland has been called a European success story as its economy is now looking like a world beater. The country is on track to be the fastest growing economy among OECD member countries in 2017. And a lot of this is down to the recent boom in tourism and specifically, the hit HBO TV series, Game of Thrones.

One of the original PIGS, the Spanish economy continues to silence its critics, growing quarter after quarter. And in what is starting to become familiar territory for the Southern European country, the economy started 2017 off with a bang, dispelling fears of an abrupt slowdown in economic activity that some had expected due to the fading of several tailwinds.

Productivity is considered by some to be the most important area of economics and yet one of the least understood. Its simplest definition is output per hour worked, however, productivity in the real world is not that simple. Productivity is a major factor in an economy’s ability to grow and therefore is the greatest determinant of the standard of living for a given person or group of people. It is the reason why a worker today makes much more than a century ago, because each hour of work produces more output of goods and services.

According to Ian Stewart, Deloitte’s Chief Economist, “It is hard to overstate the importance of productivity in driving improvements in living standards. Since 1850, UK GDP per head has risen 20-fold, transforming our standards of living. If productivity had remained flat over that period, GDP per head would only have doubled.”

Global growth is likely to strengthen this year but uncertainty over geopolitical issues across the globe, elections in various European countries, Brexit negotiations and Donald Trump as President of the United States, pose risks to growth. Have a look at what is expected for the developed economies & the emerging markets in 2017.

Donald Trump will take power in January and will govern a U.S. economy that is in its seventh year of growing tepidly at around 2%. Our Consensus Forecast for the U.S. economy this month sees GDP growing 2.1% in 2017, but this will be subject to revision in the coming weeks and months as the economic priorities of President-elect Trump become clearer. Here we analyze the immediate and possible future implications of Trump’s victory. During his campaign, Trump outlined an extremely controversial policy agenda, including—but not limited to—building a wall on the U.S. southern border with Mexico, renegotiating NAFTA, cancelling or reforming the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), imposing punitive trade tariffs on China and cutting taxes for the wealthy. The unexpected victory of Trump in November’s election and the resultant uncertainty over future U.S. policy will have serious ramifications for both the domestic and global economies.

Sign up for our newsletter

Cookies Policy: We use third-party cookies to improve our services by analyzing your browsing habits.
By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. For more information on cookies and how you can disable them, see our "Cookies Policy".
Close